[Flatlander9]

Just looking at planting flax for the first time this year.

Curious about fertilizer package, preferred herbicide and fungicides. As well as seeding rates and any other information. Would probably be looking to swath it and am curious if it still would require a preburn to dry down straw. What do you use to pile and burn your straw after combining? Does anyone treat there seed with anything?

Also where do you see the price/acreage headed as new crop bids are currently at the $12.50/bu in surrounding areas.

Any other tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chainsaw]

We spray ours with glyphosate and straight cut with fd 70's. My 7010 chops it most years if I buy new chopper blades and stationary blades. This year it was way to humid and couldn't chop it good. First four years the chopper would chop it. Our 9770 chopped it fine this year. We have a c2 Morris on 12" spacing and no problems. We grow Bethune. All the varieties are close in yield. Priaxor or headline works for fungicide. Buctril m and a wild oat. Have used authority on it also. I want to try a stripper header this year.

 

[nicemustang]

Fertilize 80-25-0-15 if you can. Preburn with authority charge is a good options if you have cleavers, kochia and buckwheat and you won't see one all season. Choose a clean field because flax is a poor competitor. Seed on cereal stubble, preferably wheat. Centurion and buctril M or curtail in crop. Headline at mid flowering. No need to treat seed. Seed 45-60 lbs per acre for best results. Seed north and south so you can use the winds to burn your straw in rows. Swathing is OK but a application of glyphosate is really helpful, or reglone for that matter. Makes combining much nicer. Drop the straw, don't chop it. You can always harrow together with heavy harrow if burning doesn't work, or use a buncher. Applying fungicide is a debate but in m area its required. It does add 2 weeks to mature. We seed it middle of seeding, used to do near end and was ok but now that we apply fungicide have to be in earlier. I think marketing wise, it was a surprise that it's as high as it is, I don't think it will stay at that. Typically $2-3 over canola. I suspect lots of acres this year again.

 

[BrianTee]

We frustratingly tried the stripper last couple of years with no success. Maybe if we get a drought lol.

 

[SWFarmService]

Fertilize 80-25-0-15 if you can. Preburn with authority charge is a good options if you have cleavers, kochia and buckwheat and you won't see one all season. Choose a clean field because flax is a poor competitor. Seed on cereal stubble, preferably wheat. Centurion and buctril M or curtail in crop. Headline at mid flowering. No need to treat seed. Seed 45-60 lbs per acre for best results. Seed north and south so you can use the winds to burn your straw in rows. Swathing is OK but a application of glyphosate is really helpful, or reglone for that matter. Makes combining much nicer. Drop the straw, don't chop it. You can always harrow together with heavy harrow if burning doesn't work, or use a buncher. Applying fungicide is a debate but in m area its required. It does add 2 weeks to mature. We seed it middle of seeding, used to do near end and was ok but now that we apply fungicide have to be in earlier. I think marketing wise, it was a surprise that it's as high as it is, I don't think it will stay at that. Typically $2-3 over canola. I suspect lots of acres this year again.

Very good advice!

 

[farmerandy]

Make sure your rotor etc is in good shape and maybe put new knives on the header before you start the flax. The first year we did flax the threshing elements tore off of the rotor and tore everything up. This year we pulled the rotor and replaced all the hardware, straightened and balanced it, and replaced the vanes on top of the tunnel. We also had to reinforce the concave bracket. That ****'s hard on equipment lol

 

[quappelle]

I'm retired now, so I'll leave herbicide advice to the young fellows. A thing to consider is that flax has been grown on the prairies for 130 years. It's not like soybeans are now or canola was 25 years ago in that we know where flax is a good bet and where it isn't. So if no one grows flax close to you I'd think long and hard before I'd try any real acreage. This area is good flax country and it's great flax country for 30 miles south of me. Flax has outyielded canola here for the last two years.

Flax is easy to combine if you can do it when the straw is at the right stage. If it's too green you'll break knives and your combine will groan in protest. Once it's dry it goes through like wheat unless it rains for a month after it's ripe. Then the straw breaks down as the bark loosens up and it wraps around every shaft between the pickup and the straw chopper.

It's not all profit as there's over a quarter still standing across the road.

 

[MCatSHF]

I suspect lots of acres this year again.

Hello Nicemustang
Rumour has it that I'll be upping my acres from the 70 that I had last year to 100 this year.

 

[Snipe]

We frustratingly tried the stripper last couple of years with no success. Maybe if we get a drought lol.

What kind of problems were you having stripping flax?

 

[ZEEMAN]

Does flax actually respond to 80 actual N?

 

[uthinkyourwet?]

Does flax actually respond to 80 actual N?

Very much so. It has a reputation that it won't, but with average yields of 20, 55 lbs of total n is enough. Flax uses 2.7 lbs of n per bushel of yield, so if you want 40, you gotta have over 100 available to her.

Use 90% of canola fertility, and you won't be disappointed. Nice mustang brings up a good point regarding headline. If you are in a borderline area for season length, I suggest forgoing it, as it will delay maturity badly. I would never dream of delaying the maturity of flax in this area, making it later than it already is...

Around here we get 35 plus without headline anyway. Fungicides on pretty much anything delays the crop so badly in this area, it is far riskier to apply it, than it is to let nature take her course.

 

[MCatSHF]

Does flax actually respond to 80 actual N?

Hello ZEEMAN
Nutrient uptake by a 24 bus. crop in Western Canada:
N:62-76 P:18-22 K:39-48 S:12-15

 

[jdcountry]

Hello,
I'm considering seeding flax for the first time as well and have a couple of questions. Is there any market for the straw if you bale it? Can a conventional combine be used for harvest? We have a couple of JD 9600's. Also, is it better to straight cut or swath this crop?

Thanks in advance

 

[uthinkyourwet?]

Hello,
I'm considering seeding flax for the first time as well and have a couple of questions. Is there any market for the straw if you bale it? Can a conventional combine be used for harvest? We have a couple of JD 9600's. Also, is it better to straight cut or swath this crop?

Thanks in advance

There have been efforts that mostly have failed in regard to the straw. Some guys bale it and burn it for a heat source...

Yes, a conventional combine works very well for flax. When I ran one, it was the most efficient, fastest crop to combine.

I am a straight cutting guy. It is personal preference IMO.

 

[MCatSHF]

Hello Jdcountry
Here in MB there used to be (I think that they all closed up?) flax straw processors that bought a lot of flax straw. I live close to a lot of residential areas so it is baled & sold for its insulating purposes covering septic fields, holding tanks,... Mind you there aren't that many people that want to handle a 5x6 round bale (what I sell) any more & instead will pay 3 times as much for the equivalent in small square bales.
I have conventional MF combine & have no problem threshing it out.
I prefer to let mine stand & straight cut. Here it is a late crop & my thinking is that if an inch or two of (dry) snow comes you will still be able to harvest it by straight cutting. If it is swathed & an inch or two of snow falls on the swath, you are screwed. On the other hand, if you get a lot of wet snow & it lays the crop down & you have to wait until spring to combine it, you'll probably have to cut the field one way only. In that case it would be better if it was swathed before the snow came.
I tried picking up swaths with a bit of snow on them & that was a disaster. Only went a few feet before the combine was all plugged up. The heat from the friction melted the snow. I have picked up swaths for a neighbour years ago & the crop seemed to have wintered well in the swath.

 

[nicemustang]

I like to straight cut too, however last year we had to swath it. New knives on your cutter bar is a good idea. We usually combine last so instead of changing knives at beginning of season, do it before your flax and then they're good all next season. 32 bpa last year but the two before were both over 45 bpa so need to put the N down.

 

[quappelle]

Years ago we had a White 8700 and a NH TR70 in the field after a wet spell. The 8700 was rolling while the TR70 was sitting and spitting out hair balls for the first day. The next day was dryer and the TR70 could roll.

 

[hondaman]

How do you guys keep your flax standing with 80 lbs. N. Even at 60 lbs. I am having issues. If I don't use Headline then for sure it is flat. (Bethune)

 

[uthinkyourwet?]

How do you guys keep your flax standing with 80 lbs. N. Even at 60 lbs. I am having issues. If I don't use Headline then for sure it is flat. (Bethune)

I dunno. I use up to 100 lbs actual, and no headline, and have yet to have lodging issues whatsoever with bethune.

 

[nicemustang]

We grow sorrel, it lodges but usually stands back up. Can try using potash, that helps. Also fungicide helps it to stand. Bethune was better for this. I'm trying GLAS this year, the neighbours seed grower plot was quite short and stood straight so excited to see how that will work out.